146 Lower Robin Hood Lane

Updated 26 June 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

146 Lower Robin Hood Lane is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The registered manager had left the service in December 2018 and a manager, who was registered with another of the provider’s locations, had applied to register with the Care Quality Commission. At the time of the inspection, this manager was supporting a person who in March 2019, had been appointed to manage the service on a permanent basis. This means the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse or when a person dies. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also received feedback from a local authority commissioner and a speech and language therapist. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We spoke with one person and introduced ourselves to two people. We joined two of these people for lunch. We spoke with the both managers, the operations manager, the assistant team leader and one support staff. We looked at a range of records including one person’s care record; medicines records; staff training records; health and safety records; accidents and incidents; audits; and quality assurance reports. After the inspection we gained feedback from two relatives.

Updated 26 June 2019

About the service:

146 Lower Robin Hood Lane is a residential care home that accommodates up to five people with a physical disability and learning disability. People had complex communication needs and limited vision. The accommodation provided is a bungalow. Some people were not able to communicate using speech and used body language, signs and facial expressions to let staff know how they were feeling. At the time of the inspection there were four people living at the service.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service:

People's experiences were consistently good, and this was confirmed by feedback about the service.

People were supported by staff, who knew people well and trusting relationships had been developed. Staff were available to support people when they needed it. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff continued to treat people with dignity and kindness and to put people at the heart of the service. Staff and managers had championed on people’s behalf in situations when professionals had not shown people equal respect.

Staff understood changes in people’s body language and how to communicate with people who had limited vision and verbal communication. Despite changes in the management team, staff felt well supported and were motivated to provide personalised care.

People could be assured that staff understood their health, social and personal care needs. Strong partnerships had been developed with a range of health care professionals. Everyone worked together to find the best outcome for the person. People continued to receive their medicines when they were needed. Risks to people’s well-being and in the environment continued to be effectively managed.

People were given informed choices about how to spend their time. They took part in regular sensory activities which met their individual needs. People’s relatives were assured that people were safe and well cared for and they were kept up to date with their loved one’s well-being.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: Good (last report published 25 October 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remains Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.